2017/10/14/(Sat)

Kuehne + Nagel Ghana to provide emergency and relief logistics for major social enterprise [Humanitarian Logistics]

With the inauguration today, the branch office in Accra officially opened its doors. Operations have been successfully taken up, following the IDA Foundation Aid & Relief award to deliver 150 40 feet containers of mosquito nets to Ghana’s Ministry of Health.

Within the short time frame of one month, Kuehne + Nagel will ship the significant amount of mosquito nets from Denmark to Ghana, where they will be distributed to local health centres as part of a national campaign against malaria. Due to the geopolitical environment in the region, emergency and relief logistics is a major focus of Kuehne + Nagel Middle East and Africa. The cooperation with the IDA Foundation showcases the company’s extensive experience to provide freight forwarding and tailor-made logistics services for a broad range of customers and industries.

“Kuehne + Nagel Ghana is delighted to assist the IDA Foundation in accomplishing this humanitarian aid project and we look forward to creating a meaningful partnership to support the progress of the region in the coming years,” says Jeffrey J.O.Peprah, Kuehne + Nagel Ghana National Manager.

Aligned with the business development efforts in the region, additional initiatives have been set off to increase awareness of customers in the humanitarian aid sector. With its strategic location, the Kuehne + Nagel office branch in Accra is well positioned to provide cross-border forwarding and industry-specific logistics solutions to customers operating in West Africa, specifically in Ghana and its neighbouring countries.

2017/09/27/(Wed)

Hurricane Irma / Panalpina was called to help. [Humanitarian Logistics]

24 hours can seem endless when a hurricane passes over you. The people of Saint Martin had to live through this experience on Wednesday, September 6, as Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean island causing widespread devastation and severely damaging Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM). The category 5 storm left the island’s residents isolated and in desperate need for aid, and Panalpina was called to help.

At 10:42 am on Friday, September 8, Panalpina received an urgent call from the Netherlands Red Cross asking for assistance to get 65 tons of relief cargo for Saint Martin on board a KLM flight due to depart to Curaçao in less than 24 hours. KLM had offered the capacity free of charge on their next day’s flight from Amsterdam to Curaçao International Airport (CUR), located about 900 km away from Saint Martin.

“When we received the call, a time frame of 24 hours seemed like a very short period, but Panalpina Netherlands took the lead in this challenging task and put an operational team together in order to get the job done, acting as the central coordinator between the goods’ supplier, the overland carrier, the Netherlands Red Cross, KLM Operations, and handling agent Menzies,” says Gerard Braams, Panalpina’s Air Freight procurement specialist in the Netherlands.

Panalpina set up direct links between the different contacts to ensure a timely process. Three trucks with plastic sheeting and jerry cans departed from Ronse, Belgium at 3.00 pm for delivery to Menzies in Amsterdam. Other goods such as solar equipment and generators were supplied by third parties directly to the Panalpina Amsterdam warehouse, where the required documentation was prepared.

Delivery took place at 9 pm, the cargo was labeled and screened, and all goods were ready to fly by 1 am on Saturday. The flight took off at 8.15 am. Upon arrival in Curaçao, Panalpina’s agent CACC, who lead the operation and communication in Curaçao, took over the goods and set up an air-bridge with Saint Martin, whose airport was by then partially habilitated to receive smaller aircraft.

The Panalpina Charter Network booked and transferred a commercial Hercules C-130 from the US to Curaçao. Due to its maximum payload of 18 tons, it took 4 rotations to deliver all cargo to Saint Martin. As the landing strip was damaged and the military had taken control of both facilities and airspace, close contact and communication were necessary to coordinate the delivery.

Between the third and fourth rotation, Panalpina sent the Hercules to Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA) in Oranjestad, Aruba to collect an additional load of three Red Cross pickup trucks, which were delivered in Saint Martin successfully.

Unfortunately, after having loaded the last 18 tons of cargo in Curaçao, the Hercules had to wait until the potentially catastrophic Hurricane Maria passed. The fifth and last flight of the operation took place as soon as the airport reopened, completing a successful mission.

“Depending on the circumstances, time can seem relative, but help should be universal and Panalpina would like to thank the Netherlands Red Cross for counting on us for this important relief effort. We wish the people of Saint Martin a quick and complete recovery,” comments Gijs Peeters, Panalpina’s country head of air freight for the Netherlands

2016/10/01/(Sat)

Deutsche Post DHL Group and United Nations Development Programme Hold Airport Disaster Preparedness Workshops in Bali and Lombok [Humanitarian Logistics]

Germany's Deutsche Post DHL Group and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are once again conducting their joint preventative training, known as Get Airports Ready for Disaster (GARD), from September 5 to 9 at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport, Lombok International Airport and Selaparang Airport in Lombok. Indonesia was the pilot country when the program was implemented globally in 2009 - in Makassar and Palu.

Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire where several continental plates collide. As a result, the chain of islands is at frequent risk of earthquakes, tsunamis and active volcanoes. Additionally, Bali and Lombok are categorized as high risk areas in the Indonesian Disaster Risk Index (2013). Airports in both provinces experienced operations shutdown due to volcanic eruptions from nearby Mount Rinjani.

The multi-day workshop involves over 50 participants - including representatives from the airport operating company, aviation safety experts, national and regional Disaster Management Planning Agencies, Indonesian Red Cross, immigration authorities, the military and the police force - who will be trained to handle the high volume of incoming relief goods and increasing number of passengers during the aftermath of natural disasters.

"Following natural disasters, airports become vital hubs for the processing of incoming relief supplies," says Christof Ehrhart, Head of Corporate Communications and Responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL Group. "With sound processes in place at the airport and with the relevant agencies, relief goods and aid can be channeled through airports to reach the affected communities quickly and efficiently. This program continues to help improve disaster management in this geologically high-risk region."

"Often airports are unprepared to manage large disasters or humanitarian crisis and as a result, assistance gets slower in getting to those most affected. GARD is working specifically with all partners on the ground to solve any potential bottlenecks that could impede fast response to save lives. I praise the Indonesian government for its commitment to preparedness and the airport authorities for their risk informed management." says United Nations Resident Coordinator in Indonesia, Douglas Broderick.

The training includes evaluation of the airports' capacities for processing high volumes of passengers and cargo and warehousing relief supplies. Location-specific disaster plans are drawn up as well.

About GARDIn 2009 GARD was developed by Deutsche Post DHL Group in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the aim of preparing airports in disaster-prone areas to handle the surge of incoming relief goods after a natural disaster occurs. It also enables the various organizations and aid agencies to better understand the processes at the airport in the aftermath of a disaster, which will help facilitate relief efforts and enhance overall coordination.

GARD trainers and training materials are provided free-of-charge by Deutsche Post DHL Group while UNDP leads the project implementation and facilitates the coordination with the government authorities. GARD training workshop arrangements and logistics costs are fully covered by UNDP with funding contribution by the government of Germany.

GARD is an integral part of Deutsche Post DHL Group's GoHelp program in which the Group pools all of its activities related to disaster preparedness and management. As a form of crisis prevention, GARD workshops are used to prepare airports for coping with potential natural disasters. Should a disaster strike, Disaster Response Teams (DRTs) provide emergency aid and ensure that relief supplies can be accepted in a coordinated manner and passed on to the correct aid organizations.

The DRTs were established in cooperation with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). They encompass a worldwide network of more than 400 volunteers, all specially trained employees of Deutsche Post DHL Group.